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MusicallyMontessori10: African Call & Answer Song With a Welcoming Dance, Too!

FROM THE MONTESSORI MUSIC ROOM, LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE FUN DRAMATIZING A WELCOMING SONG AND LEARN ABOUT AFRICAN VILLAGE LIFE, TOO! 
See my new Lesson Plan Activities Pack at the end of this post: Musically Montessori Activities from Africa. 

Photo by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

***©Carolyn Lucento 2015. You are warmly welcome to use any of the ideas I have posted here, however, the content & photos are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without my permission.

This is the tenth article in my series: "Musically Montessori, A Sequential Curriculum for Everyday Music." You can read the previous articles here. You can have these first 7 articles collected into my 162 PAGE eBook/ teacher manual as a FREE DOWNLOAD when you SUBSCRIBE to my site. Just click on the subscribe panel of this blog!



Year after year, I have enjoyed celebrating African dance & drumming with little children in the Montessori environment. From toddlers, up to lower Elementary, everyone loves moving to the music of Africa. And, there is something for everyone: the mesmerizing sound of the high pitched Doumbek of North Africa, the strong & powerful Djembe of West & Sub Saharan Africa, the light & playful West African talking drum...not to mention the big tall Ngoma drums found in villages throughout Africa.

We always begin music class by singing a hello song. With this African drumming lesson, it's fun to substitute the word "Jambo" for the word "Hello" in whatever hello song your group likes. I explain that "Jambo" is the Swahili word for hello and Swahili is one of the languages of Africa.

As a first introduction to African drumming, the children really love dancing to a little story I tell about walking down to the river to get water, and then carrying the water back home so we can cook up some soup over an open fire. 
You can read about this activity here: Musical Story, African Style Walk to the River.


     Photos by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

This week, in our Montessori music classes, I started with the story/dance mentioned above. First, I showed the children some nice big photos of an African village with the water flowing nearby, and then some photos of people carrying water in baskets on their heads, and finally some pictures of big pots of soup being cooked over an open fire.

Photos by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

Then, I put on some African drumming music ( I like Iroko Percussion, "Transport Urban" at Amazon) and told the story of walking down to the river to get some water. On the way, we might see birds and monkeys, and I told the children that sometimes in African dance the motions are like the animals in the jungle. So, we had fun moving like animals in our dance. You can read more details about this activity at the post mentioned above. 

Later in the lesson, I passed around a child size African style Djembe drum for each child to play as well as a wonderful Mbira with its soft & sweet sound.

 


Child size Djembe at Amazon                                                                    Child size Mbira at Amazon

The children were so careful when playing these lovely instruments as they were passed from child to child! They kept  a nice relaxed open hand for the drumming and they used their strong finger & thumb muscles to play the Mbira.

For the younger groups in my music classes, I introduced the African Welcoming song, "Fanga Alafia" by telling them we were going to listen to a welcoming song from Africa that starts with drumming and then has a call & response (answer) singing part. The call is: "Fanga Alafia" and the answer is: "Ashay Ashay". Then I showed the children how to pretend we were drumming with our open hands on the carpet where we were sitting. After a half a minute of "drumming" we began the call & answer song. (see mp3 music selection link in the Lesson Plan below.)

For the older groups, we dramatized the welcoming song in this activity that follows.

LESSON TITLE: “A Welcoming Dance, African Style!”

Photo by Carolyn at Magical Movement Company

FEATURED SKILLS TO DEVELOP:
  • Concentration
  • Body Coordination
  • Using Drama in Musical Understanding 
  • Developing Ability to “Call & Answer” 
MATERIALS NEEDED: 
PROCEDURE:
    1. PREPARE: If you have an African style drum or other African percussion instruments, this is a good time to introduce it to the children, by passing it around the circle for each child to briefly explore.   As well, it is helpful to show the children photos of rural villages in Africa, drummers & dancers of Africa,  and special celebrations of Africa before introducing this song story. 


    Village life in Africa
    Photos by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

    Also, it’s nice if you have already offered some movement & dance activities about Africa, such as these at my past posts: Musical Story for Preschoolers to Enjoy: Let's walk to the river, African-style! (see above)
    and
    Africa-inspired Balance Beam Fun: Crossing the Bridge at Alligator Alley!

               
    To prepare the environment , I PLACE two parallel lines of MASKING TAPE down the middle of the circle time area. This will be the pretend "river" between the two pretend "villages" that we will use in our little song story about Africa.

    2. EXPLANATION: The idea is that children will dramatize the “Fanga Alafia” song with singing, dancing and playing percussion instruments. This song is a West African welcoming song. I explain to the children that in parts of rural Africa people from one village walk to see their friends in a nearby village. Long time ago, instead of calling them on the phone, they let them know they were coming by drumming and singing. To let them know they were on the way, they first drummed on their drums. As they got closer, they began singing a “Call and Answer” song. In the song, “Fanga Alafia”, the visiting group calls to let the other village know they are almost there. And, the other villagers answer by singing back to tell them they are expecting them and WELCOME! When they finally arrive at the village, everybody plays drums & dances together to celebrate the visit!

    3. MODEL: Invite everybody to stand up for a movement activity. Put on some African traditional drumming music (see selection mentioned above) and begin by demonstrating for the children how to walk in place to the beat of the music. I also show children how to pretend that they are doing their daily work in their “village”, such as sweeping, or cooking, or digging in the garden, etc.


    "The Fanga" Welcoming Song begins with drumming.

    Then, there are greetings with singing!


    The best part of the welcome is the celebration!
    Above photos by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

    4. SAY: “Let’s pretend that we are people living in 2 villages in the countryside of Africa. I’m going to divide our group, so that one half goes to the left side of our circle and the other half goes to the right side of our circle. (Direct the children to move to the left or the right) 

    What shall we call our villages?”  (The children usually come up with lovely names for their villages, but feel free to help them if they ask. This group came up with: The Purple Vine Village and the Running Cheetah Village.)


    “Let's practice! First, the “Running Cheetah” Village is going to visit the “Purple Vine” Village. So, the Purple Vine villagers will pretend to be doing their daily work.” (Prompt the children on the left to pretend to be working). 

    “Now, the Running Cheetah villagers are going to start slowly walking toward the Purple Vine Village. First they will walk to the drumming. (Prompt the Running Cheetah villagers to start walking toward the taped lines that represent the pretend river.) 


    Then, when they are closer, they will begin singing. The Running Cheetah villagers will call by singing, ‘Fanga Alafia’ and then  the Purple Vine villagers will answer by singing, ‘Ashay, Ashay’. Then: Running Cheetah villagers will sing again, ‘Fanga Alafia’ and the Purple Vine villagers with answer again by singing, ‘Ashay, Ashay.’ (Prompt children from each “village” to move closer and to sing the call and answer parts of the song.) 


    “When the people from the Running Cheetah village arrive, then everybody starts dancing to the drum music. There’s a celebration!”  (Prompt children to dance & celebrate!) 


    Then, it’s time for everyone to say goodbye, and the villagers of Running Cheetah Village turn around and walk back home. Then, we’ll start all over and this time, the Purple Vine villagers will be the visitors!”

    5. SHOW: I think this activity works best, if there are 2 teachers. That way each teacher can go with each of the village groups and guide them along in the dramatization, singing, and then dancing. Also, it is important to explain that after the first group visits their friends' village and celebrates with a dance, then they will start all over and the second group will be the ones to visit their friends' village. This way both groups have a turn at being visited and also being the visitors.

    6. INVITE: Put the "Fanga Alafia" music on and invite the children to move!
    a. ~The first village starts walking to the drum beat in the music, while the second village pretends to be working. 
    b. ~The first village gets closer and then starts to call by singing: “Fanga Alafia”. 
    c. ~ The second village stops working and answers by singing: “Ashay, Ashay.”
    d. ~ The first village repeats the call by singing: “Fanga Alafia.”
    e. ~ The second village repeats the answer by singing: “Ashay, Ashay!”
    f. ~ By now, both groups meet at the pretend “river” and everyone dances. 
    g.~ When the song is done, then everyone says goodbye to their friends, and the first village returns to their home. 
    i. ~ CONTINUE this process, but reverse the groups.

    7. SHELF WORK: You can place the photos of rural African villages, African drummers, and dancers/celebrations in a basket for the children to examine more closely at work time or free choice time.  It is nice to include one of the small African percussion instruments in the basket, as well. (ex: mbira or afuche


    Afuche image from Wikipedia
    Mbira image from Wikipedia


    EXTENSIONS & EMBELLISHMENTS: 
     ~  Play a hand drum yourself instead of using a recording from a cd.
     ~  If the children are experienced, they can carry small percussion instruments and play them during their walk to visit the other village.
     ~ Use instrumental African drumming music instead of the "Fanga Alafia" cd and have the children move, then sing the Call & Answer song, then dance. 
     ~ This is a lovely activity to feature in a small performance at your end of the year family cultural celebration.
     ~ I always include this fun activity during our classroom studies of the continent of Africa. The children usually want to do it again and so we end up doing it a few more times over several days or weeks.
    Photo by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

    Well, as you can see, I love the music and dance of Africa and I so enjoy bringing it to the children I work with! African studies is one way to begin Black History Month in February.

    Don't miss my upcoming post in this series, Musically Montessori: A Sequential Curriculum for Everyday Music
    You can subscribe and have my updates arrive in your inbox each week. SUBSCRIBE by clicking the button on the sidebar!


    You can get even more ideas to enhance this lesson with MY NEWEST T.P.T. Lesson Plan Activity Pack, Musically Montessori: Fanga Alafia Welcoming Song from Africa. 39 pages chock full of fun music, dance & drama activities (including the above Lesson Plan) along with Montessori style printables for individual and group time fun. $7.99 at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store. 
    CLICK HERE TO CHECK IT OUT!



    Trillium Montessori has a wonderful & comprehensive set of cultural card materials for the study of Africa! It is part of their bundle: THE CONTINENTS A-Z downloadable & affordable at this link: Trillium Montessori Contintents Bundle Affiliate . 


    I am so delighted to have you visiting my blog today! Please feel free to leave a comment or two in the section that follows. I love to hear your ideas.

    Advertising Disclosure: Magical Movement Company may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. Thanks for your support!






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    Musically Montessori#9: Preschool Movement Activities From Australia & My TPT Printables!

    FROM THE MONTESSORI MUSIC ROOM: LITTLE CHILDREN REALLY ENJOY EXPLORING BODY PERCUSSION, SO HOW ABOUT ADDING SOME  DRAMA PLAY WITH DANCING "ALL AROUND AUSTRALIA!"




    Photo by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

    ***©Carolyn Lucento 2015. You are warmly welcome to use any of the ideas I have posted here, however, the content & photos are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without my permission.

    This is the ninth article in my series: "Musically Montessori, A Sequential Curriculum for Everyday Music." You can read the previous articles here. You can have these first 7 articles collected into my 162 page eBook/ teacher manual as a free download when you subscribe to my site. Just click on the subscribe panel of this blog>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

    LESSON TITLE: “Let’s Do a Musical Movement Activity: Stamp, Pat & Clap All Around Australia!"


    Photo by Jeri-Jo Idarius for Magical Movement Company

    FEATURED SKILLS TO DEVELOP:
    • Concentration
    • Body Coordination
    • Using “Body Percussion” 
    • Developing Ability to Keep a Beat 
    MATERIALS NEEDED: 
    • Open space for group time
    • CD selection: “Highway #1” from the Australian group, Shenanigans (click to hear: available at Amazon) OR an instrumental selection of your choice that has a strong steady beat that children can follow easily. 
    PROCEDURE:
    1. PREPARE: Listen to the cd ahead of time, before playing it for the children, and practice each of the moves in the song. If you plan to use your own music selection, then practice movements ahead of time, that go with the beat of the music and that feature stamping, patting knees, clapping and clicking fingers or snapping. 

    2. EXPLANATION: The idea is that children will follow the actions suggested in the song, “Highway #1”. These will be stomping feet, patting knees, clapping hands, and clicking fingers and other movements like sliding feet together, wiggling hips, etc. (or snapping, if the children are able)


    Photo by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

    Life in Australia
    Photo by the artists at Dollar Photo Club
    3. MODEL: Invite the children to stand up for a movement activity. I begin by demonstrating for the children how to stamp feet, pat knees, clap hands, and click/flick fingers. 

    4. SAY: “We’re going to move our bodies to the beat in this song on the cd about traveling around Australia. We’ll be stamping, patting, clapping, & clicking, sliding, wiggling, hopping.  And, sometimes we'll pretend to drive our car! We’ll follow the directions from the narrator on the song.” (OR, “You’ll be following the directions that I call out.”) 

    5. SHOW: If this is a large group, it helps to show the children how to move while they “stay in their places.” I remind them to use their strong muscles to make the motions, but not move wildly around the room. (Like: Stomping in place, or hopping in place, etc.)

    6. INVITE: Put the music on and invite the children to move!
    a. ~With hands clasping my pretend steering wheel, I keep the beat by pretending to turn the wheel as if “driving” during the first section of the song. 
    b. ~Follow the moves suggested in each chorus of the song, "Highway #1". Or, call out moves for the children to do if you choose to present your own music selection.
    c. ~CONTINUE this process through each phrase of the song:
         “ I traveled ‘round Australia on Highway #1
            I traveled ‘round Australia just to have some fun.
            And, when I got to Melbourne, I stopped to see
            someone. 
            And, she said: “Stomp, stomp and clap, clap, clap…
           Stomp, stomp and clap, clap, clap…Stomp, stomp 
           and clap, clap, clap…On Highway #1.”









    Above photos by the artists at Dollar Photo Club
    7. SHELF WORK: Create four Montessori-style “Command Cards”: STAMP, PAT, CLAP, and CLICK. You can place these in a little basket on the Music & Movement shelf of the classroom, and the children can choose this work to practice these movements (called “body percussion”)


        Montessori-style command cards from my TPT Printables Pack: Musically Montessori: All Around Australia Preschool Movement Activities 

    EXTENSIONS & EMBELLISHMENTS: 
     ~  Play the backing track of this song ("Highway #1") in which the chorus is left up to you as the teacher to call out actions for the children to follow.
     ~  If the children are experienced, each can take a turn to call out the actions during the backing track of the song.
     ~ This song features various cities of Australia and is a great movement song to offer to the children in your Montessori-style curriculum studies of the continents of the world. You can find more Australia-related music activities at this post: The Australian Didgeridoo brings high & low fun to the Montessori music room. 



    Photo by the artists at Dollar Photo Club



    I love sharing our music experiences with you and it is so nice to have you visit my blog today. I hope your group has lots of fun with these wonderful movement, dance & drama activities!



    Photo by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

    YOU CAN GET MY MUSICALLY MONTESSORI ACTIVITIES PACK WITH LOTS OF PRINTABLES TO GO ALONG WITH THIS LESSON PLAN. JUST $6.99 AT MY T.P.T. STORE!
    HERE'S THE LINK: MAGICAL MOVEMENT COMPANY TPT STORE



    And, Trillium Montessori has wonderful Montessori style printables (for purchase) to complete your cultural studies of the continents of the world. Click here to see these fantastic materials: Trillium Montessori Continents A-Z.

    Advertising Disclosure: Magical Movement Company may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. Thanks for your support!


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    From the Montessori Music Room: How Many Ways Are There to Explore Forte & Piano?

    THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS FOR CHILDREN TO HAVE FUN MAKING THEIR MUSIC "LOUD" AND THEN VERY "QUIET," WHILE  LEARNING A LITTLE MUSIC NOTATION TOO!


    I have gathered a few of my past posts that feature some really fun activities for children to explore "Forte" (Loud) and "Piano" (Quiet) in the music that children have fun with!

    THE "CONDUCTOR GAME" TO DRAMATIZE!
    Click here to read my Blog post:The Elements of Music: Forte & Piano Conductor Game. 



    FORTE & PIANO SHAKER EGGS TO MAKE!
    Click here to read my Blog Post: Making Forte & Piano Shaker Eggs.



    BEETHOVEN'S "SYMPHONY #5" TO LISTEN TO!
    Click here to listen to the first lines of Beethoven's fifth with a Forte beginning that quickly moves to a very quiet ("Piano") second line of music: Beethoven's Fifth at Amazon.



    SAND BLOCKS TO SCRAPE & TAP!



    THE "DINOSAUR STOMP" TO MOVE LOUDLY TO 
    DELIBE'S "SYLVIA BALLET SUITE" TO TIPTOE QUIETLY TO! 
     Click here to read my Blog Posts: Dinosaur Stomp & Rhythm Patterns! and Tiptoe Movement with Delibe's "Sylvia's Ballet Suite."

    My new T.P.T. Store has my Piano & Forte Lesson Plan Printables and this set is FREE! Here's the link: Musically Montessori: Free Download!


    It's so nice to have you visit my blog again! I hope you have been able to get your free gifts from the HUGE Montessori 2016 Giveaway that celebrates Trillium Montessori's third year of blogging. 

    THE GIVEAWAY ENDED ON JAN. 24TH 2016! BUT, YOU CAN STILL GET ALL THE WONDERFUL OFFERS & INTERESTING ARTICLES THE WONDERFUL MONTESSORI EDUCATORS SEND OUT TO THEIR SUBSCRIBERS. WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO MY EMAIL LIST YOU WILL RECEIVE MY 162 TEACHER'S MANUAL, "MUSICALLY MONTESSORI: THE FIRST LESSONS" AS A GIFT FROM ME TO YOU! YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE ON THE SIDE BAR OF MY BLOG HERE>>>>>>>>>>>>>


    Advertising Disclosure: Magical Movement Company may be compensated in exchange for featured placement of certain sponsored products and services, or your clicking on links posted on this website. Thanks for your support!


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    From the Montessori Music Room: Is It "Presto" or Is It "Largo"?

    YOUNG CHILDREN LOVE THE ENERGY IN MUSIC, AND EXPLORING THE CONCEPT OF "TEMPO" IS ALWAYS EXCITING IN THE MONTESSORI MUSIC ROOM! 

    Graphics in this photo are by the artists at Dollar Photo Club

    I think that the young child is eager to learn the proper language of music and introducing the words "Presto" and "Largo" by means of Montessori style games helps children develop musical skills through what I call "the art of play."

    The tempo of a song can make you sleepy, (ex: slow lullabies) and then the tempo of a song can make you dance, or want to run a marathon, or even play the drum as quickly as your hands will move!

    Of course children are effected by the tempo of music just like anyone else and they really enjoy activities that highlight how fast or how slowly the music is moving. 

    Here, I've presented a collection of my past posts that feature musical tempo with a bonus sneak peak at my  downloadable Printables Packet, Musically Montessori: Is it Presto, or Is It Largo? 


    FOCUSED LISTENING: FAST & SLOW MUSIC FROM 
    CAMILLE SAINT-SAENS' CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS


      

    You can read the Blog post here: Exploring the Elements of Music with The Carnival of Animals.



    PLAYING RHYTHM INSTRUMENTS IN RESPONSE TO 
    THE TEMPO OF THE MUSIC


    You can read my post here:A Musical Story from the Montessori Room: The Old Grey Cat 




    MOVING TO MUSIC IN A "PRESTO" WAY 
    OR A "LARGO" WAY

    You can read my post here: Moving Like a Bumble Bee & a Sloth.


    PLAYING RHYTHM INSTRUMENTS IN A "PRESTO" &
     A "LARGO" WAY





    MONTESSORI STYLE CATEGORY CARDS 
    MUSICALLY MONTESSORI: IS IT PRESTO OR IS IT LARGO?





    I have created a Montessori style shelf work that I found a few years ago in a wonderful book, Discover Music, by Diane Zegers.  This book has gone our of print, but you may be able to find it second-hand, and it is well-worth it! 

    My 4 & 5 yr old Preschoolers greatly enjoyed putting this little work together and then they had something to take home to show their parents!

    Not only did I set it up as an individual activity (which was very popular), I also made a set of cards for a group music activity at circle time.


    'PRESTO & LARGO" SHELF WORK 
    LESSON PLAN 

    Preliminary: 
    Experience with Focused Listening and Movement activities that feature "Presto" & "Largo" (so, the children are familiar with this vocabulary)

    Materials: 

    • Printed chart with 2 category headings: "Presto"  "Largo"
    • Small photos of things that obviously move fast or slow (take care that there is an even number, Ex: 3 fast moving, 3 slow moving things) 
    • Scissors for cutting out the photos/pictures to fit in the chart column
    • Glue for attaching the photos to the chart columns
    Process:
    Decide whether each photo/picture represents something that moves fast ("Presto") or slow ("Largo"), then glue them in the appropriate column.

    Extensions:
    1. I like to first offer this game with plastic miniatures instead of pictures, so that the child has an experience with concrete objects before the more abstract pictures
    2. The chart and the pictures can be laminated and set up as a little game for a small group to play together
    3. A laminated card can be made for each child at circle with "Presto" on one side and "Largo" on the other. The teacher plays recordings of short selections of fast and slow music, the children listen, then they show the appropriate side of their cards.

    You can download these materials in my Lesson Plan Packet at my T.P.T. Store: Musically Montessori Printables at Magical Movement Company's TPT Store. THERE'S A one day SALE TODAY (1/20/16) EVERYTHING 20% off!



    I'm so excited to have you reading this post and so happy to have you visit my blog. Please feel free to explore my site  and I hope you have fun with these activities and your little ones.

    THIS WEEK YOU'VE STRUCK THE "MONTESSORI GOLD"!!! YOU CAN GET ONE OF MY T.P.T. LESSON PLAN ACTIVITY PACKS FREE in the HUGE Montessori 2016 Giveaway that celebrates Trillium Montessori's third year of blogging. More than a dozen other Montessori products will be in the giveaway package that you will receive JUST FOR SUBSCRIBING TO THE SITES OF THESE WONDERFUL MONTESSORI EDUCATORS. (Takes just one click to subscribe to all of them.)
    Over $60.00 value FREE!

    AND, YOU'LL GET UPDATES ON PRODUCTS, LESSON PLANS, AND MORE, FROM A WONDERFUL INTERNATIONAL GROUP OF MONTESSORIANS!



    You can read all about Seemi's post at my special Sunday edition article here: Hundreds of Pages of Montessori Printables: FREE! 

    THIS GIVEAWAY ENDED JAN. 24TH, 2016! YOU CAN STILL SUBSCRIBE TO THE SITES OF THE WONDERFUL MONTESSORI EDUCATORS WHO WERE PARTICIPATING. WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE MY EMAIL UPDATES, I WILL BE SENDING YOU MY NEW 162 PAGE EBOOK AS A THANK YOU GIFT! 

    YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE HERE on the SIDEBAR of THIS BLOG.
     
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